IMBOLC
Creating New Pagan Family Traditions
by
Jodi Lee
Self-Published via Smashwords.com
Copyright © 2012 Jodi Lee, Glas Celli
Cover & Interior design by Jodi Lee © 2012
Coloring & puzzle images are, to our knowledge, open source.
ISBN: 978-1-926912-62-2
Multi-Format Ebook/Digital Download
Smashwords Edition
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Jodi Lee - http://www.jodilee.ca
Sacred Triskele - http://www.sacredtriskele.net
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Table of Contents
- Recipes
- Crafts
- Puzzles
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Imbolc
Also known as Candlemas, Brigid’s Fire, Oimelc, Lupercalia and—here in North America—Groundhog’s Day, this Sabbat is celebrated on the 2nd of February. The rituals surrounding this day evoke light, fire, hearth, health, cleansing and crafting.
Though the nights have been getting shorter since Yule, it’s only after Imbolc that it truly becomes noticeable. In some places, the weather has already begun to warm, with the first rains of spring melting snow and baring the earliest flowering buds.
Of course, most North American’s wait with bated breath to see what the official Groundhogs will say this morning… will there be six more weeks of winter? Much the same as the superstition passed down in Europe, it boils down to whether or not the skies are clear or cloudy: if the sun shines, the groundhog will see his shadow, become frightened, ducking back into his burrow, and there will be another six weeks of winter. If it is cloudy, he won’t be frightened of his shadow, and thus there will be spring. Honestly, here in Canada (particularly Manitoba!), we rarely expect winter to end until mid to late April.
Still, celebrating the potential coming of spring, the return of the maiden Goddess, gives us something to look forward to and back upon, during those long, cold evenings between Yule and Ostara.
It’s an excellent time to begin plans for spring cleaning, and to focus on learning a new skill or about another culture. Perhaps a new divinatory method, a new language, or a new mythological cycle. Something new, anyway, to broaden the horizons. One year, I learned new embroidery stitches. In 2010, I learned how to make needlework patterns from graphic designs and photographs.
This year, our family is planning a move from this house, to another. We’ve accumulated a lot of stuff in the six years that we’ve lived here, and our next house is significantly smaller than this one. It’s certainly time for a good clean-out, sorting through all of our belongings and making decisions on what we’ll keep, and what we’ll repurpose or donate. Do these clothes still fit? Do we use this cutting board? Is there a reason to keep the newspapers from two years ago?
When the answers are no, the item is checked: would someone else find a use for them? Are they in good enough shape to be donated or repurposed? Things in good repair can be donated to good-will, things in medium repair can be repurposed, perhaps for rags or crafts. Things that aren’t… well, those are recycled or thrown in the garbage..
To start it all off, though, we celebrate Imbolc. As a family, we often have a small, quiet meal lit by candles, the foods themselves having milk or cream as a main ingredient. As a group, I hate to say it but we almost always miss this one, due to the past circumstances of where we lived and the weather. It could be too difficult for any of us to travel at Imbolc, so we’d simply celebrate alone or with our immediate families. Now that we live closer to each other, we tend to mark the day by spending an afternoon drinking coffee or tea, nibbling snacks and a dessert or two, and discussing everything under the sun.